On a Tuesday morning in Tacoma, Washington, on December 1, 2020, the life of 32-year-old Joshua Moore-Hughes was tragically cut short. The events unfolded inside a motel room in the 8800 block of South Hosmer Street, where a gathering of several people would take a fatal turn. A disturbance was reported at approximately 9:50 a.m., and while police were responding, a gunshot rang out.
Inside one of the rooms, Moore-Hughes was found on the ground, unconscious and bleeding from a gunshot wound to the chest. He was rushed to a local hospital but was pronounced dead.
The initial scene was chaotic, with a crowd gathered outside the motel room door. A woman had called 911 to report the shooting, but by the time officers arrived, many potential witnesses had scattered. Investigators learned that an argument had erupted within the room over missing prescription drugs, specifically Percocet pills. The man who had rented the room had accused others of stealing them and had reportedly called an acquaintance, 33-year-old Joshue Tamblin, to help him handle the situation.
Witnesses reported that the man who rented the room accused Moore-Hughes of taking the pills, an accusation that offended him. An argument escalated, and Tamblin allegedly told Moore-Hughes to "watch his mouth." When Moore-Hughes responded defiantly, Tamblin is said to have fired a single shot from a semi-automatic handgun, striking him. In the aftermath, many of the nearly ten people present in the room were hesitant to cooperate with detectives.
Two days later, on December 3, 2020, Tacoma police detectives arrested a 33-year-old suspect in connection with the shooting. The suspect, identified as Joshue Tamblin, was taken into custody at another Tacoma hotel and booked into the Pierce County Jail. Prosecutors formally charged Tamblin with second-degree murder and first-degree unlawful possession of a firearm. During his arraignment, he pleaded not guilty, and bail was set at $2 million. While Tamblin admitted to being present in the room at the time of the shooting, he denied being the one who pulled the trigger.
